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Shisha no Teikoku is a psychological anime with a Victorian Steampunk setting and the unusual twist of zombies which, in this universe, play a vital part in the worlds economy.

The core of the story was extremely intriguing and, if transposed differently, could have made for a exceptionally delightful film experience.

It started off well with an eerie yet gripping scene that made for a truly exiting first impression. Yet I first got bothered by the first proper dialog, in which the plot was presented in a manner which was unclear to me.

Throughout the whole movie the conversations built around the progress of the plot ... would be the most frustrating factor for me, since too often I was not quite sure in which direction the story was heading or what the incentive of the antagonists were.

I find it a great shame that such a rich and promising story line fell short of its worth in its anime adaption. Yet I must commend the atmospheric value this film had with its melancholy and macabre feel and its harrowing setting which I thoroughly enjoyed.

The art of this anime was its strongest point in my opinion, the animation is impeccable and the art design utterly beautiful. I especially loved the mechanical details and would consider this movie a treat to people who enjoy eye-candy as much as I do.

The soundtrack to this film was pleasant and fitting yet nothing stood out to me as remarkable.

My critique on the Characters range from both sides of the spectrum. On the one hand I liked the many different character designs that were created, used and invented upon. On the other hand I often thought the characters to be one dimensional and distant.

At times it seemed as if the protagonist, John H. Watson, was somewhat detached even though it was evident that he was not supposed to be a cold character.
Yet in other scenes he would show a great amount of emotion. It's a pity that his personality is this inconsistent since the emotional experience plays a big role in the enjoyment of this film due to the morals and philosophy of the story.
I would have liked him to be more feeling throughout all of his scenes due to the inner impact they left.

The degree to which Shisha no Teikoku entertains is based heavily upon whether you as an observer enjoy the genre or not and how much you value emotionally stimulating visuals and story lines.
I myself adore Victorian Steampunk settings as much as I like to feel touched and mournful during a movie and am therefore quite biased towards this film.

All in all even though I had a lot to criticize about this film I still enjoyed it very much and would definitely consider re watching it for its stunning visuals and the emotional turmoil it sent me through.

Since Fantasma is a manga trilogy, the story is relatively simple and has a common template found in many anime and manga just with a different coat of paint.
The basic structure of the story is enjoyable and the different parts all have their own charm yet what I thought to be irritating was the fast pace it was written in.

For a series of only three volumes there were too many different locations, too many new pieces of information and most of all: too many characters.
If the mangaka had spread the story out between maybe four or five volumes the plot would have transpired ... a lot more smoothly.

I would like to add that most of the characters had been introduced too quickly to remember their names or character traits.
As for Nero, the protagonist, Pucchi, his "Fantasma" and Vicent, his newly acquainted friend they are all characters that grew on me and I was sad to see them go come the end of the series.

In my opinion the series had a lot of potential before the author decided to squish it all into a mere trilogy.
The art style was quirky and animated and by my preference absolutely amazing. I can't wait to see what KAKU Yuuji might draw next, hopefully something less crowded.